Joe Birkett ’77 in December was sworn in as a justice of the 2nd District Appellate Court in Elgin, IL. He was formerly DuPage County State’s Attorney and a prosecutor for nearly 30 years. Birkett’s wife Patty watched the oath, which was administered by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Bob Thomas. Daily Herald photo by Daniel White.

When Heathrow International Airport closed due to bad weather a week before Christmas, it posed quite a dilemma for 18 students, their professor and a staff member, Brian Rainville, who were stranded in Berlin at the conclusion of a D-Term course. The group was supposed to transfer flights in London.

On any given day at North Central College, students are sharing travel stories from D-Term, learning about new study abroad options to places like Jordan and Peru, practicing German at a language table, taking flamenco lessons and viewing a documentary film about India. They may encounter an English professor who grew up in Romania and a student organization comptroller from Haiti.

One of my theories about great colleges is that they must include a few “magnificent crazy zealots.” Too many MCZs, and the institution could implode. Too few, and the school has a tendency to settle for good instead of great. The MCZs are the professors and coaches who refuse to accept constraints … whether they be resources, attitudes, “turf” or time … in their pursuit of excellence.

J. Burton Kirkwood, professor of history at the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN, used his sabbatical as a New American Colleges and Universities fellow at North Central during fall term 2010. While observing the College’s senior administrative leadership, he also researched North Central’s rich legacy in the sciences and its many distinguished alumni.

Ginny Klomps Wallace is a project manager with natural resources communications firm D.J. Case and Associates based in Mishawaka, IN. As a conservation educator and interpretation expert, she has worked on public involvement for programs like reintroduction of the Mexican wolf and North American waterfowl management. She previously spent 27 years with the Missouri Department of Conservation. She may be reached at ginny.k.wallace@gmail.com.

Susan Ubben ’75 Miller detoured from her social work career for 12 years but that hasn’t prevented her from gaining recognition for her visionary work as CEO of Rose Brooks Center, a domestic violence program in Kansas City, MO. Miller has been named an Influential Woman for 2011 by the Kansas City business community. This follows multiple awards that Rose Brooks Center and Miller have received for excellence in nonprofit leadership from civic organizations and media outlets.

While Christine Ross ’11 was student-teaching in the Czech Republic, she mentioned to her class that she wanted to visit Egypt and ride a camel. “Four of the 13 students in my class told me they had already been to Egypt and ridden camels,” she says. “And they’re in fourth grade.”

An elementary education major, Ross embraced her passion for internationalism by completing her student-teaching requirement at a British International School in Prague. She applied to a program called Educators Abroad Student Teaching (EAST) and chose the Czech Republic from more than 40 options.

Michael Sparacino, M.D., joined the Family Medicine Department at River’s Edge Hospital and Clinic in St. Peter, MN. In addition to his time at the St. Peter facility, he’ll also work at the River’s Edge clinic in Le Center. He previously worked at Immanuel-St. Joseph (ISJ) Hospital in Mankato, MN, as a family medicine clinician and program director for the family medicine osteopathic residency program at ISJ. He’s served as chief of emergency medicine for the 51st Tactical Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base in the Republic of Korea, medical director of high-risk obstetrics at St.